Rising senior Matthew Lettiero made the YMCA swimming national cut for the 100 breast stroke. Matt will be traveling to Indiana for the National Swim Championships to be held August 3 through August 8. The son of Fran and Rosemary Lettiero of Hamden, Matt is not only a standout on the Hamden Hall swim team with coach Ken Pierson, he also swims for the Cheshire Y Sea Dog Swim Club with coach Sean Farrell. Congratulations to Matt and his family, and good luck in Indiana!

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"Threepeat"!5/27/2015Congratulations to the baseball team upon winning their third consecutive New England baseball tournament crown. On Friday afternoon, the Hornets defeated Providence Country Day 6-0. The game was played at Salem State University in Massachusetts, and featured a rematch from last year's final. Any PCD hopes of avenging last year's 2-1 outcome were quickly dashed, however, by a strong start from the Hornets. Senior catcher, Michael DeMartino, led the way with three hits, including a homerun. Zach Balabon, Will Rhone, and Austin DeFilippo added to the offense, connecting for two hits apiece. One of Rhone's hits was a triple. Ron LoRicco also hit a three bagger, while Marco Fontana hit a double, as the Hornets established a four run lead by the top of the second inning. Meanwhile, Jorge Mendoza limited the Knights to a scattering of 6 hits to produce the shutout, and finished the season with a 5-1 record on the mound. Hamden Hall finished the season with a strong 15-5 record, while PCD finished at 13-7. Coach Fontana and the staff will surely be already planning on the "fourpeat", and with so much of the well balanced squad returning next year, the Hornets could be in terrific shape to defend their impressive title run. Congratulations again to the entire team, coaching staff, families and fans who supported the team.

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Baseball Advances to New England Final5/22/2015Having soundly defeated Canterbury 14-1 in the first round of the New England tournament, Hamden Hall defeated King School of Stamford in the tournament semifinal on Wednesday 7-4 and now advances to today's championship final. Though the Hornets jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 2nd, the visiting Vikings roared back with three runs in the top of the 4th, and added what they might have believed to be an insurance run in the 6th to take a 4-2 lead. However, the Hornets were determined not to lose their chance to defend their title again, and answered with a fantastic 5 run rally in the bottom of the 6th. The Hornet offense was led by Jorge Mendoza and Andrew Natale who had 2 RBIs and 2 hits apiece, including a triple for each. Marco Fontana added 2 more hits, including a double, driving in 2 more and scoring 2 himself. Austin DeFilippo also hit a double. Zach Balabon went 5 innings and 8th grader, Ryan Doherty, got credit for the win. The Hornets improve to 13-5, and now square off against Providence Country Day in the final. The game takes place at Salem State University in Massachusetts at 5:00. PCD beat Pingree 3-2 in the other semi final game. This final will see a rematch from last year's title game when the Hornets defeated the Knights 2-1 to win their second NE title in a row. Will we see a "threepeat"? Go Hornets!

Innings R H E

King 0003010 4 12 1

HH 020005x 7 7 1

Zack Balabon, Ryan Doherty(5) and Mike DeMartino

Baseball Falls to Brunswick in FAA final but gear up to defend NE title5/16/2015 The Hornet baseball squad made a great run this week, managing to reach the FAA tournament title game, only to fall to #1 seed Brunswick 3-0 in Greenwich on Fruday afternoon. On Monday Zach Balabon continued his success against Hopkins, leading the #3 seed Hornets to a 9-4 win against the #6 seed Hilltoppers. Balabon got plenty of support from his batterymate Michael DeMartino. The senior catcher, who will play at Southern CT next year, hit a double and a triple to lead the offense. Balabon returned to the mound on Wednesday and showed grit as the Hornets hung on to edge #2 seed Rye Country Day 2-1 in New York. Ronnie LoRicco helped make the difference when he muscled out a home run, as the Hornets improved their record to 11-5 on the season. Coach Fontana took a gamble and put the ball into the hand of 8th grader Ryan Doherty for the final. Doherty rose to the occasion and looked good over the first three innings. In the bottom of the fourth, however, he got into a jam and suffered some bad luck as well with a ball glancing off his glove to open the door for the Bruins, who scored three in the frame. Brunswick's pitching limited the Hornets to only three singles; however, they managed to come right back in the top of the fifth to load the bases, but just couldn't push runs across.

Despite the setback, the Hornets return to action on Monday when they host Canterbury School in the first round of the New England Tournament at 4:30. HH has won the title five times and would love to score a 'Threepeat', having won in 2013 and 2014.

The Sports Trivia Club, which meets each week in Mr. Gonnelly's room, recently debated and voted on their picks for the four most iconic figures in each of the major sports. After plenty of discussion, here's what they came up with. However, in the spirit of fair play and healthy debate, they would like you to voice your opinion. Is there someone more deserving for one or more of these monuments, and who would you replace? Fill out the poll and have your say.

Girls Lax Tops the Hop 4/27/2015On Friday, the girls lacrosse squad recorded a solid victory over the rival Hilltoppers 11-6. Having begun the season 0-4 while facing the toughest foes in the Fairchester League, the team has run off four straight wins to even their record at 4-4. Prior to the showdown against Hopkins, the Hornets ground out three tight wins, defeating St. Luke's 14-11, Chase Collegiate 12-10, and Westover 15-13. The team has developed a well balanced offense. On Friday, freshman Maisa DellaValle led the way with 4 goals. Fellow frosh, Justyna Breuler scored 3, while seniors Doria Weiss and Liv D'Anna threw in 2 apiece. Senior Josie Maynard recorded 3 assists. It was a tight match, with the Hornets holding a 5-3 advantage at halftime. The Hornets continued to make the best of their opportunities in the second frame to earn the win. While the teams were tied in shots on goal, senior goalie Mediah Gant was the difference on defense, recording 18 saves.

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Dance Team Shines3/10/2015 Recently the dance team competed in the New England Cheerleaders Assn. Cheer and Dance Open at Central Connecticut State University and took home the gold in the Hip Hop dance category with a score of 53.30. This past Sunday, four of the dancers - Nina Luo, Sheryl-Leigh General, Gabriella LoRicco, and Nohar Segal - competed in the "Step Up 2 Dance" Competition at the Crowne Plaza in Southbury. It was a first attempt for the girls, and they came away with the "Clean and Polished" title and earned a High Gold award, the second highest medal awarded in the competition. Congratulations to Coach Jacqui L'Italien and the entire squad for a successful winter season.

"Cuz We are the Champions!!!"3/9/2015Whether you are a fan of Queen or not, you have to admit that when that song starts playing, you just have to join in after capturing that big trophy. Yes, once again, the Girls Basketball team are the champions of New England, earning the Class C title with a convincing 69-52 triumph over #1 seed Kimball Union Academy of New Hampshire. The victory avenged the loss to the Wildcats in last year's final. As KUA's own web site attested, the Hornets proved to be a "formidable opponent" and raced out to an "insurmountable 25 point lead at halftime." The Wildcats never quit, but whenever they went on a mini-run, the Hornets broke their hearts with dramatic three pointers, and maintained a healthy lead down the stretch. It was one of the finest all round basketball displays against an opponent that certainly came into the game as the favorite. But right from the tap off, the Hornets seemed clearly on a mission and completely in tune with each other while executing their game plan with precision. Once again the terrific inside work provided by Rachel Menze, who scored 12 points, and Naomi Van Nes who grabbed 10 rebounds, combined with deadly outside sharpshooting to create a veritable hornets' nest that no defense could exterminate. As a team, the girls hit 11 three pointers, including 5 by Taylor Fascione and 3 by Alyssa Devin, who also dished out 8 assists. Joycie Dos Santos was a threat both inside and out. Bianca Tomassini scored 15 and was deservedly named the MVP of the tournament for her superb quarterbacking of the squad. KUA finished the season at 20-7, while our Hornets finished 21-3. Congratulations to the entire team, Coach Borelli and her coaching staff, as well as all the families and friends who attended the game.

Girls Take 2nd, Boys 5th in New England Swim Meet3/9/2015 The girls and boys swim teams once again did a fantastic job at the NEPSAC swim meet. The annual marathon event (13 hours!) took place at the Canterbury School in New Milford on Saturday, with diving at Suffield Academy on Friday evening. The girls took home the silver for the third year in a row, reflecting the balance and consistency of contributions from both seasoned veterans and key newcomers alike. The boys finished fifth out of the field of thirteen teams. The teams combined to set eight school records! In addition, seniors Elijah Cordova and Max Firtel were repeats as the gold and silver winning duo in diving, though they finished in the reverse order from last year. Mia Moraru came in second, Natalie Pinela third, and Josie Bentlage sixth in girls diving. All the seniors contributed significantly to the effort, and will certainly look back on their swim careers with pride. Congratulations to the entire team as well as the tireless coaches, Ken Pierson and Ann Kohler, and all the parents who made the trip to cheer on the teams.

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Girls Basketball Reach Finals; Rematch vs.KUA tomorrow at Loomis3/7/2015 The Hornets cruised past Beaver Country Day 63-49 at the BAC on Saturday in the NEPSAC tournament semifinal to earn a rematch of last year's championship game when they face Kimball Union Academy on Sunday at 1:00 at Loomis Chaffee in Windsor. The #2 seed Hornets hope to avenge a heartbreaking 43-36 loss from last year to the #1 seed Wildcats. KUA graduated only one starter from that squad, and will be a formidable foe once again. The Hornets will rely on their inside height, balanced with deadly perimeter shooting to counter the Wildcat threat. Both teams have had a solid run of success in the NEPSAC tournaments. The Hornets were Class D champs in 2010, runners-up in 2012, and champs again in 2013 before moving up last year to Class C. The Wildcats were runners-up in Class C in 2012 and 2013 before winning the title last year. Previously, HH had beaten KUA in a quarterfinal match-up in 2009, while the Wildcats defeated HH in the finals in 2007. So tomorrow's game figures to be another tough and exciting affair. Come out to support the team. Go Hornets!!!